Fitting In
by LaidEffect
Summary: (Modern AU) Harry 'Hiccup' Haddock always hangs out with his own gang, but was never really accepted by everyone else despite his fame back in high school. Now, in Dreamworks university and still surrounded by his closest friends, he intends to achieve two personal goals. 1) Be accepted 2) Getting the girl.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**This is my first time dwelling in HTYYD fanfic. also my first time testing Modern AU, and my writing's gotten rusty lately. Any mistake pointed out and constructive criticism is very much appreciated. Thanks ;)**

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The auburn-haired young man lifted his head to have a look up at the red brick building that towered over him. Its 6-storey height, however, was unable to block the afternoon sunlight that had shunned brightly and forced his eyes to squint to look at the structure.

The lanky lad decided that if he continued to stare and analyze the design of the building under the extreme sunlight he might – probably, maybe – render himself blind, so he just shrugged his shoulders and took a deep breath before taking a step towards the three-centered arch that led to entrance of the buildings. He found it difficult to make his way past the young adults who stood in groups hogging the morocco red wooden double door that formed the main entrance while holding on to his box of belongings and a rather heavy bag slung over his left shoulder. The place buzzed with life as chatters, sometimes yells, could be heard throughout the building but it didn't bother him as he only had one question playing in his head. On repeat.

"Where the Hel is room 608?"

Just as he approached the first flight of stairs he could feel panic starting to crawl up his chest, he heard his name being called from the floor just above him.

"Harry Haddock?!" Harry looked up to see a man in a white t-shirt calling down to him. The man started rushing down the stairs to greet Henry with a broad friendly smile.

"Name's Shrek, welcome to DreamWorks University. This is where you're gonna stay," the man stretched his right arm out to offer a handshake. Henry Haddock quickly examined the man standing in front of him. He had short dark brown hair with a fringe sprouted to his side. His shirt had the phrase "Ogre-time!" in green, and one could tell that he was rather muscular as the baggy shirt still wrapped around him.

"Ah!" Shrek said after realizing Henry's hands were occupied. His smile was still disturbingly broad. "Sorry. Didn't realize you were carrying stuff."

"Hiccup," Harry said while lifting his box to show it to 'Shrek'. Shrek tilted his head a little to the right and raised his left eyebrow, as if to show he didn't understand. A few seconds of awkward silence ensued.

"That's what everyone calls me," Henry 'Hiccup' tried to break the silence. "We're using made up names right?" More awkward silence.

"That's my real name, Shrek Myrke."

"Ah, sorry." Hiccup gave an awkward smile showing his gritted teeth.

_Way to go, Hiccup. First day here and you're already losing friends. Wait… when on Midgard did you even have friends? Oh right… those clowns._

Shrek let out a laugh before saying "Doesn't matter, lad. Most people tend to get confused at my name, except Fiona." Hiccup could hear the content in Shrek's voice when he mentioned Fiona.

Hiccup felt as though his skinny arms were going to detach from his torso at any moment, and his face must have shown it, as Shrek quickly offered to carry his box up the stairs, with one hand. _Show off._

"608 is located at the sixth floor, kid."

Hiccup flinched when Shrek said 'sixth floor', but he was totally uncomfortable when the bulky man called him 'kid'. "Kid?"

"You're a freshman," Shrek chuckled. "Of course you're a kid."

"But I'm eighteen."

"And I'm twenty-two, and you're still a kid." Shrek turned to him. "Well, you do look like one."

Hiccup shrugged at the comment. "Has anyone mentioned you sound like a drowning Mike Myers with a Scottish accent?"

Silence dominated the atmosphere between the two guys following Hiccup's remark as they walked up the remaining two flights of stairs and towards the door at the end of the corridor. It has the number 608 on it.

Shrek slot the key into the keyhole with his free hand and twisted the doorknob before giving it a hard push. "Here ya go, kid, the keys to your room."

Hiccup looked down at the key in his hand. It was only one key. _Why did Shrek say key'S'?_

"Now remember," Shrek started after placing Hiccup's belongings on the bed near the left wall, his smile still plastered on his face, but not as broad. "The room's for two people."

"That explains the two beds." Hiccup said dryly.

Shrek let out a sigh, and muttered something under his breath about a donkey and nerves. "Anyway, good luck at DWU, Hiccup!" and left, closing the door.

Hiccup just stared at his belongings for a while until he heard the door open. Hiccup rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Now wha – guys?"

Standing at the door were three guys and a girl. They stared at Hiccup for a brief moment, before the girl with two blonde braids leaning on the door frame opened her mouth. "Uh guys, I think we got the wrong room."

The guy next to her, who looks exactly like a carbon copy of the girl with a long face and blond hair tied but tied into dreadlocks, nodded. "Yea, aren't we looking for a short, scrawny, muscleless, chubby-faced kid?"

There was a snort from the muscular shortest guy with wavy black hair that swept back. "There's probably a hopeless hiccup during check in and he gotten the wrong room."

Hiccup just let a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Guys, for real, it's me."

The looks on the four faces clearly showed they weren't convinced. The black-haired guy just looked at Hiccup from top to toe. "Sorry, stranger. No idea who you are. We probably got the wrong room. You do sound familiar though."

"I see even in college you're still confused as ever" Hiccup shrugged his shoulders "Snotlout."

A unison of gasp followed. Then, a large and husky guy with blonde hair stared at Hiccup for a brief moment before his eyes widened in shock "Holy mother of THOR? IS THAT YOU, HICCUP?!"

"Ye –" Hiccup heard cries of "HICCUP!" and "Harry!" before finding himself locked in a group bear hug, and he swore he heard his joints along whole body crack from the tight hug he was given.

"Err, guys?" he found himself gasping for air. "Can't – breathe?"

It took a moment for the other four to realize they were suffocating their friend who stood in the middle. The large guy smiled sheepishly while letting out a small chuckle. "Sorry, we just got excited. We haven't seen you since Berk High."

The rest nodded with smiles now plastered on their faces. Snotlout – the one with black hair – eyed Hiccup from head to toe with wide eyes.

"I gotta say, WOW. What on earth did puberty do to you? You grew taller!"

"Puberty probably hit him late after we graduated," the long-faced male blondie snickered "And now he's taller than Fishlegs here. So you're officially the shortest among us, Snot."

Snotlout glared at the male and crossed his arms. "Shut up, Tuffnut."

Hiccup could only muster a smile. There was a time when the large husky young man standing in front of him – 'Fishlegs' – was about a head and a half taller than Hiccup. Now it was Hiccup who was a few inches taller than his friend. In fact, he was now the tallest among them. He turned to each of his friends. "Thanks for coming guys. Really appreciate it."

"Hah, I told y'all Cuz would be here," Snotlout let out a laugh and pat Hiccup on his back while looking at the other three. "And to think none of you believed me."

"Because you said the complete opposite, Scott Jorgenson."

"Whoa whoa, what happened to full names, Rachel Thorston?" Snotlout smirked while raising his hands defensively. Tuffnut glared at Snotlout. "Hey! Only Thorstons can call her that! The rest of you must call her Ruffnut."

"Says who?" Snotlout glared back at Tuffnut.

"Says me!"

"Everyone ignores you!"

"You're talking to me! How can it be 'everyone' if you're talking to me?!"

Hiccup brought his hand to his face when Ruffnut soon joined the argument as Fishlegs tried to calm the other three down. He lifted his head and scanned around the room looking for someone else. "Hey, guys, where's –"

"HEY! HEY! Astrid!" Snotlout cheered as he walked towards the door, where a girl with blonde hair in a single braid stood. "How are you doing, babe?"

Before Snotlout could place his left hand on her, she grabbed his outstretched arm and flipped him over, pinning him onto the ground. Snotlout let out a painful groan while he rubbed the back of his head. "The Helheim was that for?"

"Told you to stop calling me that. And don't touch me."

"Shut up, Astrid."

Everyone else snickered as Snotlout got back on his feet, but Hiccup just kept looking at Astrid. "I see nothing's changed, Hofferson."

Astrid turned her head to look at Hiccup, and then slowly walked towards him. He found himself drowning in her blue eyes as he always had, before he felt a sharp pain on his left shoulder and snapped back to reality only to realize Astrid had punched him.

"That's," Astrid had a straight face, "for calling me by surname." Hiccup had a lopsided grin on his face, but it was quickly wiped off when Astrid landed another punch on his left shoulder.

"And that's for looking creepy."

Coos from the rest soon followed as Hiccup's eyes and mouth were wide in shock, but the shock didn't stop him from hearing Tuffnut say "Owh! Larv in the air!" and felt his face flush.

Ruffnut looked confused. "Wait, how did you recognize Hiccup so easily? Yea, we hugged him called his name and all."

"Yea," Tuffnut's eye narrowed suspiciously. "How did you recognize him immediately? It is paramount that you tell us immediately."

Ruffnut's head snapped to face her brother. "That's not how you use the word 'paramount'."

"It is."

"It's not."

"Yes."

"No."

"You don't know what it means. I do."

"Oh, really? What does it mean then?"

Tuffnut raised his hand and had opened his mouth to explain, but froze for a moment and closed it back again. Ruffnut broke into a grin and placed her hands on her hips as if claiming victory, before turning back to Astrid who was standing next to Hiccup. "So? You still haven't answered the question."

Astrid only shrugged her shoulders. "We've been keeping in touch, since graduation."

Four mouths went slack as eyes widened in shock. Snotlout was the first to regain his senses.

"Wait." His head was shaking, eyes still wide. "So you're saying that Useless here has been contacting you for the last what? Six months?"

Hiccup winced a little at his cousin calling him 'Useless'. Sure, Snotlout didn't really mean it and it's only a nickname now and Hiccup didn't really bother about it, but it did remind him of younger times when the bigger cousin was the bane of his existence until they were 14-years-old. He just looked at Astrid, who looked at him, before both of them turned back to Snotlout to nod in sync.

"Which during that six months Hiccup completely vanished from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr – "

"You could had just said 'social platforms'"

"Shut up, Tuff. I'm trying to be serious here. Ah, dung, where was I?"

"You were thrown by Astrid onto the ground."

"I didn't mean literally. What did I say earlier?"

"You were trying to be serious?"

"No. Before that!"

"'Shut up Tuff'?"

"ODIN'S BUTTHOLE!" Snotlout glared at Tuffnut, who had his arms crossed and looked back nonchalantly. "I WAS ASKING ASTRID SOMETHING!"

Tuffnut thought for a moment. "Nope, don't remember anything." Snotlout's face was red with boiling anger and his knuckles had turned white from balling his fists too tight.

"Guys," Hiccup interrupted. "Are y'all here to welcome me or argue till Thor-knows-when?"

Everyone had turned their heads to look at the auburn-haired youngster.

"Welcome you, obviously." "Argue!" "Welcome you to argue!"

The last respond from Tuffnut had Hiccup placing his hand on his face again. _Why in Helheim am I even friends with these guys? University is gonna be so –_

His train of thought was derailed by the sound of his stomach growling. He looked down at his belly and silently cursed at it before lifting his head up to look at his group of friends again.

"Well, whatever y'all came here for, I'm hungry. Who wants to grab something to eat?"

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****Hey Guys, LaidEffect here (obviously). Just came back to writing fanfic after being caught up with reality for too long. **Btw, i'm gonna start writing on this story. and i'll also try to update Worlds Collide ASAP. luv y'all 3**

**R&R if can please ****( ˘ ³˘) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**chap 2 is UP! Hope you enjoy reading it :D**

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"Seriously, Hiccup," Hiccup glanced up from his seat to look at Astrid talking to him with a sheepish grin on her face. "You have to tell me how do you eat so much but still look indifferent."

While chewing through his burger, the fair-skinned male cocked his left eyebrow curiously at the blue-eyed blonde who lowered her tray of food onto the large round table to sit on his left, before another voiced boomed over to gain his attention.

"What she means is 'What Loki's trickery have you used to eat all that and still look all that?'" Ruffnut joined in to sit next to Astrid.

"You've just gestured to all of me. And my food." Hiccup's eyebrow knitted together and his mouth was partially full from the food in his mouth. "Besides, these ain't a lot."

"Trust me, H," Tuffnut slid his tray onto the table; "one Filet-O-Fish and one chicken burger with large fries and large Coke ain't 'ain't a lot'. But seriously, CHICKEN BURGER?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE BETTER THAN THAT!"

Hiccup glanced down on his tray and back at Tuffnut sitting next to his twin sister, grumbling about 'no one appreciating a no chicken diet' with Ruffnut snapping back on him 'eating 3 eggs daily for breakfast'.

He then turned to look around his surroundings. The walls were painted taupe brown or carmin red, occasionally cream white, and were decorated with slogans like "Look for the Golden Arches" and "I'm lovin' it" or quotes like with in eggshell white. Soft white fluorescent lights illuminated the place to give patrons a warm feeling. There was a corner which curved out and had the wall painted yellow with the words 'EGG MC' in black smack in the middle. The place was not too bad in his opinion, just a little crowded and noisy with students for his liking.

A slam on the table had everyone's attention turned towards Snotlout wearing a scowl on his face with his arms crossed. "Will someone please tell me why on Midgard did I even let you muttonheads force me to come to McDonald's? These burgers are messing with my 3-month transformation program."

"Actually, Snotlout," Fishlegs walked over next to Hiccup with his own tray, his eyes still on Snotlout, "You insisted that we come to McDonald's."

That remark had Snotlout glaring at Fishlegs. "I did not. Shut up, Fishface."

Hiccup couldn't hold back a chuckle at the sight of his closest male friend bickering with his cousin. He always found the fact that his group of friends stuck together for so long to be amusing. None of them could really agree on anything, including food. _Especially_ food.

* * *

"_For the last time, guys, where do y'all want to eat?" Hiccup felt his patience wearing thin with his hunger in his stomach growing._

"_I did say we should try the campus cafeteria," Fishlegs was glaring at the twins, "but some people want to go to the club. At 12 noon."_

"_Hey don't look at us, Frankie," Tuffnut had his hands raised on the defensive, so had Ruffnut. "You know we're the ones with the Nut ideas."_

_Ruffnut smirked as she nudged her brother. "Hey, nice going with the Nut."_

"_Give it a rest you two," Snotlout snapped at the twins. "I say we try out their McDonald's. Apparently they don't have yak burger here, instead it's all beef. I don't see the difference, though. Apart from the spelling." _

"_Domestic yak – or _Bos grunniens _– is the descendant of the wild yak, also known as _Bos mutus_. Yak is mostly found throughout the Himalayan region, and also Berk." Tuffnut explained with his professor tone. "Beef comes from cattle, or as many people know as 'cow'. They are most commonly classified collectively as _Bos Taurus_."_

"_I don't remember asking you, Professor."_

"_Did too."_

"_Seriously, guys," Astrid started snapping at both Snotlout and Tuffnut. "Make a decision."_

_Snotlout began trashing his arms in the air. "I already gave you my idea. MCDONALD'S! Back me up here, cuz."_

_Hiccup shrugged his shoulders and tightened his lips, before speaking again. "Since Snotlout's so persistent about it, let's go McDonald's. The cafeteria won't leave the university any time soon. And no way are we gonna be going to the club at noon."_

_Both twins dropped their hands before they could protest. Tuffnut leaned closer to whisper into his sister's ear. "To stop us before we could make our argument, I bet he has some kind of sense to see the future or read minds."_

"_You mean precognition or telepathy?"_

"_Yea, whatever. I dunno what those mean anyway."_

* * *

"Midgard to Hiccup. Hello? Hiccy? You still there?" That had Hiccup snapping back to the present and stare back at Tuffnut. There was a look of concern on his friends' faces.

"What?"

Tuffnut breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Thor. We thought the Jotunns stole your soul."

"Jotunns don't do that." Fishlegs spoke out. Tuffnut just turned to look at the husky blonde with confusion clearly written all over his face. "They don't?"

"WHO CARES?!" Ruffnut cried out, and everyone turned to look at her. Her face loosened up and looked at Hiccup, a smug on her face. "So, Haddock, care to explain what happened?"

The smug and change in tone Ruffnut used made Hiccup shift uneasily on his seat. "Wh-What do you mean 'what happened'?"

"You know," Ruffnut began using her French fries in her hand to point all over Hiccup. "Becoming attractive and all."

"Sis, don't tell me you're… _Bleurgh_"

"Bleurgh indeed, dear brother," Ruffnut pointed out. "But I gotta admit: Broad shoulders, sharp square jaw, high cheekbones –"

"Oh I think I'm gonna barf everywhere."

"Shut up, Snotlout!"

"Hey! That's my line!"

"Whatever." Ruffnut rolled her eyes and looked back at Hiccup. "Right, high cheekbones. Have I mention those forest green eyes? They make girls swoon over you."

Hiccup started to feel his cheeks flush red a little. But Ruffnut was not done.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Astrid suddenly chooses to jump you in bed. Heck, she could even take you here and now and I wouldn't even be bewildered."

Hiccup's eyes widened in shock, but he heard the sound of someone choking and turned to realize that Astrid had gagged on her orange juice. He heard Tuffnut disagreeing with his sister about using the word 'bewildered', but he focused on Astrid's sudden response. When he turned back to the rest of the group, Fishlegs and Snotlout were looking at him with narrow eyes and sinister grins on their faces. It took him a few seconds to choke the words out of his mouth.

"G-Guys – wh-whatever – you're – s-saying – doesn't – "

"Doesn't what?" Fishlegs leant closer to Hiccup, until his face was mere centimetres from the auburn-haired male but the eyes were still narrowed. "Doesn't make sense? I highly doubt that."

The husky male leant towards Hiccup's right ear, with Snotlout getting off his seat to join in next to the both of them. "In fact, I think you're hoping it's true and that happens."

Fishlegs had whispered into Hiccups ear, but the statement still sent chills down Hiccup's spine. Snotlout quickly added, "Yea, especially since the both of you…" Both Fishlegs and Snotlout wiggled their eyebrows at Hiccup.

_I did not have to see that. Oh Odin, I hope your butthole ain't that disgusting. Wait, what? _Bleurgh_, what the Thor, Haddock?_

"Wait a minute," Fishlegs had straightened his seat and looked at Snotlout with furrowed brows. "You thought _that_?"

"Thought what?" Confusion clearly heard in Snotlout's tone.

"_That_." Big hands were dragged down Fishlegs face. "Oh my Thor, I can't believe you thought of _that_."

"What?! I'm confused!"

Before Hiccup could interfere, 'Sticks and Stones' started blaring and his left jeans pocket was vibrating, causing him to fish out his phone and read the word _Dad_ on the caller ID on the screen.

_Saved by the phone._

He excused himself to leave, only the twins responded by nodding their heads. Fishlegs and Snotlout were busy arguing, as Astrid just stared at her drink looking as if she completely zoned out. He only picked up the call when he walked out of the restaurant and closed the glass door behind him.

"Hey, dad." Even with the call on receiver mode, the loud, booming laughter of his father could be heard even if Hiccup had placed his phone an arm length away from himself.

"_How is th' Pride of Berk daein'_?" The thick, deep Scottish accent boomed through the phone.

"Pride is a little stretch. Don't you think, Dad?"

"_Nae tae me, it isn't._" Another booming laugh followed suit. Hiccup could only chuckle at his dad's laughter and wait for him to regain himself before talking again. "_Seriously, son. Did I call at the wrong time?_"

"Actually, you called at the right time." Hiccup let go of a breath he did not know he was holding. "Saved me when I needed it most."

"_Oh really?" _Interest and curiosity building in his father's voice. _"Is it about a lassie? I thought ye like Astrid._"

"Dad!"

"_Ye an adult now. Ye should – _Ow!_ – What in the Nine Realms, woman_?"

"Mum keeping you occupied?"

"_Th' usual. Naethin' I can't handle. They don't call me Stefan Haddock th' Stoick for nothing._"

"I'm pretty sure Stoick was meant for the other quality you possess, dad. How's Toothless by the way?"

"_He's fine._ _I_ _highly dou_ – Ow! – _What the_ – ARGH! " He soon heard the sound of something large crashing, the clattering sound of probably his dad's phone falling onto the ground along with an excited bark. A string of curses soon flowed through Stefan's mouth which Hiccup was sure his mum would fill with bleach if she heard him.

"_Now look what ye did ye crazy four legged_ – Ow! – _don't ye dare swing yer tail at me!... Oi, th' phone isnae for ye to lick!... Nuh-uh-uh, gae tae yer fat sized bed you black stinkin'_ – Ow!"

"I'll call you back soon, dad?"

"_Yes, yes, of course. Remember tae call yer mother, too. I don't want tae sleep in th' couch wi' at fluffy fat – _Ow!_ – Will you stop that, mad fella?!_"

Hiccup chuckled as he hung up the phone when his dad continued to curse and the barking sound which seem as replies to the curses his dad spat out. He quickly turned back and walked back into the restaurant.

As he was walking towards his table near the pick-up counter, Hiccup fished out his phone to check his notifications, a distraction which caused him to bump into something. The clattering sound with a curse was soon heard and it took a moment for Hiccup to realize he bumped into someone. He looked onto the ground and saw the tray, fries, burger bun, patty and milk splattered on the floor in front of him. His eyes widened and heart started pumping hard with panic running up his spine as he felt eyes from other patrons and even the staff turned to look at the sudden mini commotion.

"Oh my gods," He forced the words out of his mouth. "I am so, so, so sorry. I didn't mean to…"

Hiccup looked up and saw the figure standing in front of him. The figure had bright red curly hair, pale skin, and wore a dark navy hoodie with black jeans. The figure then looked at him with a frown on _her_ face. "Watch where ye going, laddie."

"What?" Hiccup's eyes blinked in confusion, but had quickly regained his composure. Well, some of it. "I'm really, really sorry. How about you order whatever you order and I pay you. I mean I'll pay the counter. For the food."

The girl looked at Hiccup from head to toe, as if studying his intentions, then gave a warm smile. "Sure thin'. Don't see any fault in that."

Both of them soon walked back to the counter, where the girl made her order with Hiccup paying up as promised. While waiting to take their food from the 'Pick-up' counter, Hiccup felt a need to break the silent uneasy tension that loomed over him and this new girl typing on her phone. "Um… I don't think I've seen you around DWU."

_Right, because today's your first day here. You've only been to the dorm. Doofus._

The girl looked up from her phone to look at him. "Oh, I'm nae from DWU." Then her phone rang again with a 'Pop' notification, causing her to look down at it and gasp.

"I'm sae sorry. I gotta go. Chat next time." She then bolted back to the counter with her receipt, where she requested her order to be changed from 'Dine-In' to 'Take Away', much to the chagrin of the staff in-charged. Upon receiving her food in a paper bag, she then turned and rushed to the glass door.

"Wait," Hiccup turned to the direction she was running.

_I didn't even get a name. REAL smooth, Hiccup. Real smooth._

"Smooth moves you got there, kiddo."

Hiccup turned his head to look for the source of the voice. Smiling at him was a pale skinned male with messy snow white hair in a blue hooded sweater and khaki pants. The guy just smiled and turned his attention back to the queue he was lined up in at the 'Order' Counter.

Having enough confusion for one day, Hiccup decided to walk back to his table, only to find Fishlegs jabbing his phone with his large fingers, a smug clearly on his face, Astrid glaring at the arguing twins as if warning them to not start a fight in public. Which was too late, to say the least, as they both already fell onto the ground tussling with each other.

"Do I want to know what is _that_ all about?" Hiccup asked dryly while looking at Astrid. She turned her head to see him, her face still tensed.

"Something about their Uncle Magmar and stuffing some french fries up his –"

"Ooookay I'm gonna stop you right there," Hiccup raised his hands in surrender, not wanting any further information. Astrid's face soon loosened up as she watched him take his seat next to her. Just when he was about to drown in her icy blue eyes, a '_Smack!_' on his shoulder gained Hiccup's attention and he turned around to see Snotlout.

"Hey, cuz. What was that about?"

"What was what about?"

"You. With the girl at the counter."

"What about it? I just bought her food." Hiccup saw Snotlout's eyebrow raise a little and quickly added. "I bumped into her and dropped her food. It's like a peace offering. Or apology."

"Yak dung!" Snotlout spat, but he was smirking. "You two were talking. I saw you smiling at her. She smiled back at you."

"I didn't smile. We barely had a conversation."

"Who had what conversation?" Tuffnut asked loudly.

"I heard it's Hiccup with some girl." Ruffnut joined in. Soon the twins let out wolf whistles, and Hiccup just slapped a hand onto his forehead. _Oh for the love of Thor…_

"Guys," everyone turned to see Fishlegs. "There's a party coming up later at the one of the student residential buildings nearby. We should go check it out."

"When did Fishface start going to parties?" Snotlout had furrowed his brows as he looked at Fishlegs.

"I dunno, maybe I want to have some fun?"

"Your fun is always nerdy games and talking geek with Hiccup twenty-four seven."

"Hey! I don't talk geek twenty-four seven." Hiccup protested, and was ignored completely.

"That's different fun. I'm talking socializing. Y'know, like in high school."

The rest nodded and smiles started forming on their faces. Astrid turned to Hiccup. "So, you coming?"

Hiccup looked at the rest, faces full of excitement and plead as if asking him to join them. He pursed his lips. "I dunno, Astrid. Socializing? That ain't my strongest point. And you know I don't drink."

"I know. I don't too. Which you also know. But we're gonna need someone to watch these muttonheads from doing anything stupid if they get hammered. I can't watch Snotlout and the twins on my own."

"Wait. Hammered?" Hiccup was confused. "I thought they banned alcohol in the university compound."

"Yeah, they sure did." Fishlegs pointed out. "But the venue is at one of the buildings _outside_ the compound. So…"

Hiccup sighed. "Alright, I'm going with you."

Twins high-fived. Snotlout balled a fist and punched the air. Fishlegs just smiled wider.

"_Only _because I can't trust you guys to not get into any trouble. Now, where's the party at?"

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**Don't forget to R&R please 3  
PS: Working on developing the whole story. I hv dis crazy idea in my head xDD**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright, it's been a while since I've been here. Hope y'all didn't wait too long. Here's a new chapter.**

* * *

"What the Thor am I doing here?"

"You did say you'll keep an eye on them."

"But I don't like this place."

"Neither do I. But like I said earlier: these muttonheads can't take care of themselves."

Hiccup let out an exasperated sigh. Astrid was right; it just didn't mean that it helps the situation he was in. He completely felt out of place in the party, despite having Astrid accompanying him by sitting on a sofa at one of the corners in the living room. Fishlegs also sat with them, but he was occupied with his phone. The smell of alcohol was thick and filled the air in the room, and the semi-D bungalow that serves as the venue was packed with students who just wanted to unwind themselves before the semester starts.

"Pinch me, punch me, flip me over. It's tough to believe some student can rent at a place like this." Hiccup finally said after awhile.

Astrid then punched him in the shoulder, which earned a glare from him. She had innocence in her face. "What? You said 'punch you'."

"In case you forgot, Astrid, I'm a walking fishbone, I don't need to be a victim of your 'communication'," he said before looking around again. "Back to topic, though. Just look at this place. What my dad wouldn't give to buy me a house like this."

"You know," Fishlegs spoke up, his eyes still glued on the phone screen as his fingers continued jabbing the device, "there's a rumour that this house is owned by one of the students. They said that this person holds parties every week, and he enjoys pranking others too."

"SWEET!" Tuffnut chirped in as he leaned himself on Fishlegs' back having appeared out of nowhere. "Finally, someone who can relate to us."

"Uh, Tuff, are you alright?" concern filled Hiccup's voice. The male twin's cheeks were bright red. "You look like you've been drinking a bit too much."

"Nope! I'm completely fine!"

"Ignore him, Hiccup," Ruffnut said as she smacked Tuff at the back of his head. "My dumb head of a brother's just having problem with finding people to prank here."

"Hey!" Tuffnut said as he bobbed his head up. "Why don't we go and fill the pool with ice?"

"Lame. But, an idea is better than no idea. Let's go."

Before Hiccup could stop them, both blondes have already run off and disappeared into the crowd. Hiccup cursed under his breath and placed a hand on his face. Astrid just shook her head. "How long do you think before this place falls into the Thorston chaos?"

"I dunno. They seem pretty committed." Hiccup dropped his hand from his face as he turned to face his best friend. "What was their record time again?"

"I didn't know we keep track of those."

"8 minutes 46 seconds. They filled the whole school with Zippleback gas. Principal Sven wasn't too happy about his office smelling like he just farted," Fishlegs answered before looking up from his phone to see both Hiccup and Astrid staring at him. "What? Someone needs to keep track of those two."

Hiccup shifted uneasily on his seat, and that didn't go unnoticed by the blonde sitting next to him. Hearing his name being called, he turned to look at Astrid. Her face was filled with concern.

"Is it the leg?"

"No?" Hiccup's eyes narrowed before widening again, hands and head shaking frantically. "No! It's not the leg, Astrid. It's just –"

"You don't feel comfortable being here."

Hiccup's shoulder slumped in defeat and his head dipped. "Yeah."

An idea popped up in Astrid's head. "Hey," Hiccup looked up to look at his best friend. "How about you go ahead and mingle around? Get to know the people here."

"Astrid…"

"I know, I know. Socializing isn't your strongest suit. But try looking at this from another perspective; maybe you might find people from the same course as you."

"I highly doubt that I could do exactly that. Finding people from the same course, I mean. Anyway, what the Thor happened to Fishlegs 'wanting to socialize'? He's still glued to his phone!"

"We'll look at Fishlegs later. Now let's just focus on you. You didn't have _that_ many friends during high school. It's about time we change that."

"I can gladly say that the five of you are already a handful. Where'd you think I get my daily dose of entertainment and migraine anyway?"

"Hiccup –"

"Okay. Okay. I'm going. I'm going." Hiccup said lifting both his hands up in surrender as he got up from the seat. "Don't hog the whole seat to yourself."

Astrid just smiled at him as she watched him walk away.

"Well, you two sure look closer than usual."

Astrid almost jumped from her seat as the voice from behind her, snapping her head around to see Ruffnut with her arms crossed walking around the sofa to sit next to Astrid with narrowed eyes. Astrid quirked an eyebrow asking Ruffnut to clarify herself.

"Hiccup."

"What about him?"

Before Ruffnut could say a word or take the seat, a short stocky blur crashed onto the sofa next to Astrid.

"Snotlout!" Astrid cried out, annoyed that the black-haired man almost toppled the sofa over. "What the Thor were you thinking?!"

"I was about to sit there, you muttonhead!" Ruffnut's voice was filled with annoyance, but shock was written all over her face.

Snotlout wrestled with himself to avoid tumbling over the sofa, and took a little over a few seconds of grunting and struggling before he could sit back up properly. More like sit with his butt on the sofa. A wide grin was smacked across his reddening face, and his body wobbled back and forth as his head bobbed along.

"So," he started, "what do you two say to a few rounds, eh?"

Both girls rolled their eyes in disgust as the stout short man could barely keep himself from losing his balance, and for a few moments they thought his head was going to fall off with all the bobbing.

Astrid pinched her nose, brows furrowing again as she swatted Snotlout on his shoulder. "Eurgh, Snotlout! How many beers have you had anyway?"

"Not enough?" His grin had narrowed abit. Snotlout then slid down the sofa, looking as if he was going to fall off with his butt nearing the edge of the furniture. It didn't take him long to get back off his wobbly feet with his hands covering his crotch.

"Dung! I gotta go!"

Soon the jet black haired man was back on his feet, running back into the crowd in the direction that Astrid thinks is the washroom as he shoved Ruffnut out of the way.

"Well, that just happened."

Ruffnut turned back to Astrid, taking the now empty seat, eyes narrowed and locked onto Astrid. The end of her lips quirked up a little. Her arms were crossed again as she sat down. "So, Hiccup."

Astrid blinked at the long-faced girl facing her.

"Don't act like you dunno what I'm talking about, A. The both of you have been – HEY!"

Ruffnut was interrupted when she was yanked off her seat by her brother, who apparently had lost his sister for five full minutes and needed help carrying the bags of ice to the pool.

She turned to see Fishlegs still using his phone. Curiosity almost had her asking the husky blonde man the reason he was so attached to his phone, but somehow she suppressed the thought and proceeded to look around instead. _Hiccup, I hope you're doing better than me here._

The auburn-haired Haddock was doing nowhere _near_ better. In fact, he had just found another corner – near the stairs – for him to stand in to watch the party continue. Well, whatever kind of party it was.

"Not one for socializing eh, kiddo?"

Hiccup turned his head around to see a pale-skinned man with white hair sitting on the stairs holding a red cup in his right hand. A sense of familiarity washed over Hiccup as he looked at the young man with wide eyes, and it took him 5 seconds to shake himself back to reality while realizing he had met the stranger before.

"Wait," Hiccup started furrowing his brows while pointing a finger at the white-haired man, "You're the guy at McDonald's."

The corners of the stranger's mouth turned upwards with a glow of mischief in his eyes. "Yep. What brings you here if you don't socialize anyway?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I didn't know you answer a question with the same question?"

"Uhhh…"

"Forgot your ability to speak again? I thought that only happens when you're with girls." There was a smirk plastered on the man's face.

"What… No… Huh? Okay, time-out! Why are you here?" Hiccup straightened himself, hands forming a 'T' sign while trying to sound less confused. "Are you stalking me?"

"Stalking you?" This time the stranger had raised his brows and his eyes widened, before his facial expressions turned into a frown. "Nasal-boy, you do realise that people can attend parties as they pleased, right?"

"Nasal-boy?" Hiccup was taken aback. "What kind of name is 'Nasal-boy'?"

"Hey, Jack. Thanks for the party."

They both turned to see a blonde haired girl in a pink t-shirt and blue jeans walking pass them, cheekily winking at 'Jack', who just smiled back and raised a thumb at her with a smug look on his face.

"No probs, Punzie. Say hi to Flinn for me!"

Hiccup turned back to look at 'Jack' with wide eyes. The white haired man quirked his eyebrow in anticipation for the question from the auburn haired man standing in front of him.

"You're the one throwing this party," Hiccup said after a moment of realization. "This house is yours?"

"Yes. And no." Jack pointed out, and turned his head to look around. "Pretty sure Nicholas owns the place. Old man's probably at the North Pole trying to get a factory built there. Again."

Not knowing how to continue to the conversation, not that he wanted to, Hiccup decided to get some fresh air and space after being cramped in for quite some time. Silently excusing himself from Jack – who was talking about looking for 'Roo' – the auburn-haired man walked towards the exit.

The night cold hit the boy in the face the very moment he stepped outside the house. 'Cold' would be an overstatement to describe the weather, since even in his sleeveless he felt the air was a lot warmer, unlikely the cold in Berk which he was accustomed to. It is said that Berk snows nine months a year, and hails the other three. However, for the eighteen years Hiccup had stayed there, he had only experienced short summers, the occasional lengthy snow, and no hails whatsoever.

His left hand dug into his pocket to fish out his phone once he was outside the house. He clicked on the 'Call' icon and dialled a number then palced the phone next to his ear. About a good 10 seconds later, Hiccup heard the receiver picking up the phone.

"_Hiccup? What time is it there?_"

"Hey, mum." A warm feeling washed over Hiccup as he heard his mother's voice. "It's just past 10 at night." He heard his mother chuckled.

"_That late? If your father finds out he'll surely ask you to go to bed._"

"Funny how he rarely sleeps before midnight these days."

"_Oh, you know your father. He misses you. And I do, too. Besides, your friend keeps him occupied every night._"

"Really?" curiosity filled Hiccup's voice. "I thought they'd get along by now."

"_Oh, they do._" His mother was laughing over the phone. "_It seems your father spends more time with Toothless than with Gobber and I combined these days. Maybe as much time as you and Astrid together._"

Hiccup felt blood rushing up his cheeks. "Mom, you know Astrid and I are –"

"_I know, I know_." There was more laughing over the phone. "_So, how's college doing?_"

Hiccup let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding and felt relieved that his mother had decided to change the subject. "Well, the whole gang's here."

"_Including Astrid?"_

"Mom."

"_Made any new friends yet?"_ There was hope in his mother's voice.

He shifted uneasily as his left foot started shuffling slightly, and his green eyes looked down on the floor. Friend? There was Shrek, but they've only spoken for a while, and Hiccup's sarcasm probably burnt away the chance at getting a 'friend' from the senior.

Then there's 'Jack', also spoken a few sentences. He's kind of friendly except the auburn haired boy had gotten a bit of stalker-ly vibes from the boy with white hair.

"Well… um, it's just the first day mum. But I did speak with a few people."

Despite not being able to see her, he was sure his mum was nodding her head slightly as she muttered 'true' twice out of habit. After a few seconds of silence, which felt like forever for the boy, he heard his mother speak again.

"_Well, son, I don't want to continue to disturb yo –"_

"_VALKA! IS 'AT HICCUP ON TH' PHONE?!"_

Green eyes narrowed as Hiccup's face turned into a slight grimace having had his father's booming voice blast from the phone into his eardrum. Chuckling as he listened to Valka giving a lecture to her husband on controlling his vocal cords, he heard his father retort about his natural voice being the manliest of all. He bid his mum a good night, but not before promising that he will call again soon and hung up, feeling his face forming a broad smile after speaking to his mother.

Placing the phone back in his pocket, he didn't bother to wipe the smile off his face while he took the time to have a look at his surroundings. The building that he came out of earlier was snow white, not unlike the other bungalows that stretched down the street. The only difference was the red accent that coloured both sides of the building.

Turning his head around, Hiccup realized that the street was lit yellowish by golden coloured streetlights and the light shone by the moon that he noticed shone brighter here than in Berk. He lifted his head up to look at the sky but was duly interrupted when his ears caught onto two distinct battle cries and muffled grunts that followed coming from inside the bungalow.

Auburn hair waved a little as he snapped his head around to look at the brown door. Ten seconds later, the sound of hinges rattling could be heard as the wooden door shook just slightly before it swung and two figures shot out, crashing into the lanky young man who just so happen to stand there.

* * *

**It's pretty sloppy, and I apologize for that. I promise I'll work to improve the quality of this story.**


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